In the three months to May, consumer spending on non-food retail dropped by 0.3% on a like-for-like basis, whilst growing 0.1% in total. Online sales of non-food products saw a slowing of the significant growth it had previously experienced, down to 4.3% compared to a rise of 13.7% a year earlier. Chief executive of the BRC, Helen Dickinson noted that, “in non-food categories which are predominantly capturing discretionary spending, retailers find themselves having to compete even harder.”